Pages

Monday, October 28, 2013

Listening to God

The next verses continue to describe the worship, the
celebration, and especially to know the goodness and faithfulness of God. Then beginning at the latter part of verse 5,

I heard an unknown voice say:

6 “I removed the burden from
their shoulders;their hands were set free from the basket.7 In your distress you called and
I rescued you,I answered you out of a thundercloud;I tested you at the waters of Meribah.8 Hear me, my people, and I will
warn you—if you would only listen to me, Israel!9 You shall have no foreign god
among you;you shall not worship any god other than me.10 I am the Lord your God,who brought you up out of Egypt.Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

Those sound
like the words of a god who longs to provide for those who follow him, like our
God. All those things that God had done
for his people are for their good, just like he still establishes and maintains
our good.Look closely at verse 8, "if you would only listen to me,
Israel!"Herein lies the problem because we, like Israel, choose our own way
rather than God's way.Can you, as a
parent, relate to the mistakes of your children with those same words? You can understand some of what it must
be like to be God. Continue reading in verse 11,

11 “But my people would not listen
to me;Israel
would not submit to me.12 So I gave them over
to their stubborn heartsto
follow their own devices.

Hear the
word of God in the last verses of Psalm 81 and see how God longs to bless you
and bring about good things for you. We
need Him.Our country and its leaders
need Him.

13 “If my people would only listen
to me,if
Israel would only follow my ways,14 how quickly I would
subdue their enemiesand
turn my hand against their foes!15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him,and
their punishment would last forever.16 But you would be fed
with the finest of wheat;with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”